EU to impose €3 customs fee on cheap non-EU parcels from July 1
Starting July 1, the EU will charge a flat €3 customs duty on every low-value parcel from outside the bloc, per product category, scrapping a decades-old exemption. The rule targets cheap Asian e-commerce but also hits shipments from the US and UK.
End of duty-free low-value imports
Since the establishment of the EU single market, parcels worth less than €150 shipped directly from non-EU countries have entered duty-free under the 'de minimis' rule, designed to avoid disproportionate administrative burdens. That exemption ends on 30 June 2026. Last year alone, 5.9 billion low-value articles arrived in the bloc without paying any customs duty, according to the European Commission. In a statement, the Commission said the old threshold no longer reflects market reality, creating unfair competition for domestic retailers. The EU Council agreed to scrap the exemption in December 2025 and formally adopted the measure in February 2026.
- EU Council agrees to end duty exemption
- Formal legislative approval granted
- De minimis exemption expires
- €3 flat fee per product category comes into force
How the €3 fee works
From 1 July, each order up to €150 will incur a flat €3 customs charge per product category, defined by the Harmonized System code. Quantity does not matter: three identical T‑shirts count as one category, but a T‑shirt and a pair of shoes count as two, adding €6. The fee is applied on top of VAT and any existing import duties. The Portuguese postal operator CTT has warned that the new rules will bring greater complexity in customs clearance and advised customers to verify at checkout whether the charge is already included in the final price.
Consumers must know the total price before concluding any purchase.
Impact on shoppers and platforms
The change directly targets Asian online marketplaces such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress, which have relied heavily on duty-free shipping from Chinese warehouses. However, the levy applies universally to all non‑EU origins, including the United States and the United Kingdom. According to estimates based on Portugal’s parcel volumes, Portuguese consumers could pay up to €270 million per year in extra fees. If an order’s customs information is incomplete, the parcel may be held and additional payments demanded for release. Gifts between individuals valued below €45 remain exempt from both VAT and customs duties.
Delays and customs warnings
CTT expects temporary bottlenecks at customs posts as systems adjust to the volume of newly taxable shipments. Some platforms may embed the fee into the checkout, which would streamline clearance, but consumers should not assume this is the case. Goods already dispatched before the deadline and still in transit will be handled under the previous rules. For orders above €150, the flat €3 fee does not apply; such shipments fall under the standard ad valorem customs regime.
